Aeroplanes have been using the area atop the cliffs at Cligga Head in Perranporth since March in 1924. In those days, a surplus WW1 training biplane, called an Avro 504k, piloted by Captain J V Holmes, operated from what is now Perranporth airfield; taking local residents and visitors up into the air for “aerial joyriding”.
It was not until July 1940 that the military showed an interest in developing the site into an RAF fighter station.
Although nominally a satellite airfield of RAF Portreath, Perranporth airfield was very much a fighter station in its own right and home to several squadrons (and later wings) of Spitfires, Avengers and one Swordfish squadron throughout WW2. The nearest sector fighter control station to Perranporth in the early 1940s was Middle Wallop in Hampshire, but when France fell to Nazi occupation in May 1940 it became clear that the South West required more RAF facilities to stave off bombing raids and any other attempted air assaults.
Prior to the Battle of Britain, Spitfires of 234 Squadron were rushed to St. Eval, Gladiators of 247 Squadron were relocated to Roborough in Plymouth and Hurricanes of 213 and 87 Squadrons were sent to Exeter.
Coastal shipping, supply convoys in the English Channel found themselves under regular attack from the Luftwaffe; German aircraft taking off from occupied France had plenty of range to reach the UK’s coasts, but there was simply not enough air defence in the South at the time to deal with this threat.
By early 1941 the Germans were bombing ports and factories throughout the Westcountry, including facilities in Exeter, Falmouth, Plymouth and Bristol and England’s air defence infrastructure required urgent attention. Perranporth Airfield officially opened as an operational Spitfire station in April 1941, with the arrival from Exeter of 66 Squadron, a dozen Spitfire Mark IIs (complete with long-range fuel tanks). Many of the facilities had not yet been constructed; and 66 Squadron found themselves living and eating in marquees, which frequently blew down in the savage Cornish gales. The airfield had only one runway at the time, compared to Portreath which successfully operated four. Later in the year, an emergency detachment of Spitfires from Squadron 118 came to Perranporth from Ibsley.
Perranporth Airfield originally supplied Spitfires for fighter defence missions, protecting ground targets in the South West from German bombing operations. Spitfires scrambled from Perranporth could comfortably reach both the English Channel and Plymouth.
From 1942 onwards, Spitfires from Perranporth were also used in bomber support missions, protecting British and American bombers from German fighters. The Spitfires would be sent to various forward operating bases to do this, effectively scrambling from the front line itself.
One of the most important functions of Perranporth’s Spitfires was convoy protection, providing aerial support for shipping operations in the Southwest Approaches and in the English Channel.
Cligga Mine, at the far end of the airfield, was still functioning in WW2, providing the war effort with wolfram ore containing tungsten to harden steel. As early as WW1, munitions were being assembled inside the building which is now the headquarters of JAG Communications: a structure with strong walls and a weak roof designed to focus any accidental explosions up, rather than out.
In 1942 a Czech squadron of Spitfires (Squadron 310) established themselves at Perranporth. A typical Spitfire Squadron contained 12 fighters, with some reserves. However, the Polish Squadrons often accommodated up to 18 Spitfires.
The control tower which is still in use at Perranporth was built at the Airfield’s peak of military activity in 1943. Throughout the year Spitfire Squadrons were being user for fighter sweeps, convoy protection and bomber escort.
In April 1944 with D Day imminent, many of Perranporth’s Spitfires left for Merston airfield near Chichester in preparation for a continental strike. Squadrons of Swordfish and Avengers replaced the Spitfires. Swordfish were low speed biplanes, carrying four 25lb rockets under each lower wing. They could fly at night, using radar and were extremely useful in attacking German E-Boats at sea. Avengers usually operated during daylight; the American-built bombers carried 2000lb of bombs designed to disrupt German shipping operations in the Channel.
At the height of the war, Perranporth Airfield was home to Spitfire Squadrons (and Wings) from Australia (453), Canada (412), Poland (the Polish Wing included Squadrons 302 and 317), France (Squadrons 340, 341 and 329 formed at Perranporth to become No. 145 Wing of the Second Tactical Air Force), Czechoslovakia (310) and several English squadrons; over 19 squadrons in total.